Video conferencing has evolved over the past several years from a simplistic, two-party video communication system to a more advanced, multi-party video communication system, for example, through use of 2D animated overlays and rendering solutions. Some solutions such as Skype®, Google Hangout®, and Tango® have evolved in the space of video communications and conferencing technologies. For example, Google Hangout® uses 2D artificial visual add-ons such as an image of sunglasses overlaid on the real-time video frames during a live video conferencing session so that it looks like the user is wearing sunglasses. Similarly, Tango® provides 2D animations that run over the top of the video screen. For example, a user in Tango® can have hearts float up the screen. While Hangouts® may have 2D images that interact with the user through their facial position, Tango® does not have even offer interactive 2D animations.
Further, video messaging has traditionally been non-interactive, where a sender simply captures a video and sends it as a message to one or more receivers. The receiver(s) use a suitable display device to receive the message and plays it back. Video messaging is similar to text messaging, except that a user sends a video clip instead of a text message. Like text messaging, video messaging can be sent in a one-to-one or one-to-many fashion. The responses can occur in a similar manner. The one-to-many model is often called group messaging.
In prior video messaging systems, communication has been a non-real time, non-interactive, one-way user experience. In other words, the sender (first user) of the message is unable to truly interact with receiver (second user) because the sender is unable to see the reaction and/or emotional expressions of the receiver to his/her message at the time the message is actually received.
All of these technologies have advanced in the past years by the pervasiveness of front-facing camera technology (integrated and mount solutions) with several consumer electronics devices like phones, tablets, TVs, monitors, laptops, computing devices, etc.
In prior systems, users have limited options with respect to animations, images, and sounds because they are a pre-defined set of pre-rendered assets. Further, these are not generated in response to captured human actions or emotional expressions (disregarding the basic use of a computer mouse or finger on a touch screen).
Current videoconferencing models are hence limited by a so-called “screen barrier,” keeping the images in one user's camera feed out of the other user's video feed, and vice versa. In prior videoconferencing systems and methods, such as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0242066 and U.S. Patent Application No. 2012/00069028, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, an image appearing in the video feed on the left has no ability to “move along” an axis and enter the video feed on the right, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,099,462 similarly discloses a method of displaying interactive effects in web camera communication, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0025689, also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, discloses a technique for auto-generating a target's visual representation. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0069028 discloses use of video emoticons and U.S Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0216675 describes digital video effects, both applications, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
These teachings, however, among other things, do not allow a user to customize or personalize an animation sequence.
The present invention addresses, inter alia, this screen barrier problem, as well as other problems prevalent in the art. An exemplary system and method in accordance with the present invention utilizes the videoconference camera, activates motion-capture technology, captures one or more images from the video feed, and uses those images in personalized animation sequences.